Friday, 25 December 2015

Christmas Day – the Queen, the Prime Minister and the Archbishop of Canterbury

Christianity has been much in the news – so there’s a surprise on
Christmas.You would not be surprised to
hear this from the Archbishop of Canterbury, nor from the Queen, as the Head of
the Church of England but the Prime Minister’s comments are perhaps a little
more unexpected.They all set me
thinking.

I quote from the Prime Minister, “As
a Christian country, we must remember what his birth represents: peace, mercy,
goodwill and, above all, hope. I believe that we should also reflect on the
fact that it is because of these important religious roots and Christian values
that Britain has been such a successful home to people of all faiths and none.”

Absolutely – there is nothing discriminatory about that – I knew full
well when I chose to come to this country that it was Christian but that I was
free to practice my religion, free from discrimination and persecution.
(Officially that is – anti-Semitism has always existed and is becoming more
aggressive again – but this is still a good place for Jews. Of course I
couldn’t argue with him – those religious roots owe something to their Jewish
origins.)

The Queen, who writes her own Christmas broadcast said,

"For Joseph and Mary, the circumstances
of Jesus's birth - in a stable - were far from ideal, but worse was to come as
the family was forced to flee the country. It's no surprise that such a
human story still captures our imagination and continues to inspire all of us
who are Christians, the world over.”

Well said Your Majesty – suddenly we are all
thinking about the scenes that have filled our television screens this past
year.

And finally, Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury and I quote,

“Today, across the Middle East, close to the
area in which the angels announced God’s apocalypse, ISIS and others claim that
this is the time of an apocalypse, an unveiling created of their own terrible
ideas, one which is igniting a trail of fear, violence, hatred and determined
oppression..... They hate difference, whether it is Muslims who think
differently, Yazidis or Christians, and because of them the Christians face
elimination in the very region in which Christian faith began.”

My first thought was – and what about the Jews?Well of course the Jews are not facing
elimination from the countries in which ISIS is operating – Syria, Iraq,
etc.They’ve gone.Hundreds of thousands of Jews have fled those
countries over the past decades (members of our extended family fled Egypt in
1956 with a suitcase each and their passports removed, immediately becoming
impoverished and stateless). Not all of them went to Israel – they spread out to
many countries, including the UK. Of course, Jews are being targeted by Muslim
extremists in Europe and elsewhere, but if this “elimination” that the
Archbishop speaks of in the Middle East is successful will the next step be the
elimination of Israel and the Jews?

I don’t know what the Archbishop is doing about rescuing those
Christians he speaks of but one Jew is paying back the debt he feels: Lord
Weidenfeld was part of the Kindertransport before WWII.He has set up a fund and is actively engaged
in helping Christians to escape. He said in July

“I had a debt to repay. It applies to so many young people who were on
the Kinderstransports. It was Quakers and other Christian denominations who
brought those children to England. It was a very high-minded operation and we
Jews should also be thankful and do something for the endangered Christians.”Here is an article from the Catholic
Herald

but there are more on the internet.

I wrote a blog in August 2014 about what was happening in the Middle
East, the campaign against Israel which seemed to be gaining even more currency and the
persecution of the Yazidis and Christians which no one seemed to be concerned
about. I decided not to publish it – I am not sure why but I now regret that. I
should publish that one first but today is Christmas Day so this one takes
precedence. I will post it soon.

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About Me

I have left the world of full-time work behind. In 2011 I was the first woman to be Master of the Worshipful Company of Needlemakers about which I wrote extensively. I am on the Court and active in the Company, chairing the Charity Committee.
In July 2016 I was appointed Chair of the Trustees of the Institute of Health Visiting and will no doubt write about the amazing work that they do.
I consult to charities, particularly on strategy and governance and the challenges of managing small and medium sized charities.
I started this blog when I was running a breast cancer research charity and blogged mostly about that. I now cover a range of topics plus the occasional rant! Any unwise comments in this blog are my own!
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